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Making an impact: Tebow starting to shine

Barring an injury, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will complete his rookie season in the NFL with three consecutive starts.
(John Leyba, The Denver Post
)

Tim Tebow tucked the ball under his left arm, focused his eyes downfield and took off in a dead sprint. Across the Rocky Mountain region, down south in Gator country and there on the Broncos' sideline inside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum last Sunday, there was a collective gasp as Tebow took off on a 40-yard touchdown run.

This was what everyone had waited to see in the most anticipated debut as a starter of any NFL player this season. Tebow was getting his shot. Now just what would he do? Just how far had he come? In that one instant, he showed what he could do.

No player was more scrutinized than Tebow in the months before the NFL draft in April. Everyone from team scouts and executives to draft analysts to armchair general managers weighed in on every aspect of Tebow's game, from his elongated throwing motion to his sideline demeanor.

Yet it took eight months for fans to see the Evolution of Tebow, who makes his home debut as an NFL starting quarterback today against Houston.

It was a process that started nearly as soon as the former Heisman Trophy winner played his final game at Florida and is far from complete.

Tebow worked with a team of private coaches to overcome a dismal performance at the Senior Bowl in order to prepare for pro day in Gainesville, Fla., and for private workouts for NFL executives and head coaches, all in hopes he could prove he was not just a collegiate wonder.

No one was more impressed than former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, who stunned the NFL when he maneuvered Denver back into the first round — trading three draft picks to do so — to select Tebow at No. 25 overall.

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From that moment, Broncos fans eagerly awaited his debut. By the time Tebow got his first start last weekend, McDaniels had been fired. His voice and influence, though, remains, through the structure of the Broncos' offense and the coaching style of quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels, his brother.

Tebow and Ben McDaniels sat together on the team plane returning from Oakland last Sunday for the first of many film sessions this past week to break down Tebow's first NFL start.

They focused on Tebow's footwork, the mechanics of his drop, how high he held his left arm when throwing, the mechanics of his windup and how quickly he released the ball, not to mention if he threw to the right receiver at the right time.

"It's just everything, to every little detail of every step, every hand motion," Tebow said. "Most people wouldn't think all those things are a big deal, but if you do every little thing right, it'll add up."

These were all the little things coaches had spent months working with Tebow to improve.

"What he and I are always talking about is creating good habits that will show up on Sundays," Ben McDaniels said. "You can't drill and talk about those things on Sundays. Those things have to be habits."

McDaniels smiled a few days later when asked how many of those good habits he saw on tape.

"Some," he said. "Some. He's making progress, and we'll continue to try to make more progress."

"A lot . . . to improve"

If McDaniels sounded less than thrilled, Tebow was even more critical of his debut as a starter. He threw 16 passes in the Oakland game, completing eight for 138 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown strike to Brandon Lloyd. He ran 15 times for 78 yards, including the 40-yard touchdown on a play he later admitted he improvised when he ran the wrong direction on a handoff.

He threw well to the left sideline, where receivers were in one-on-one coverage — but had trouble with his short passes to his right. He completed only two passes over the middle — a 9-yarder to Richard Quinn and a 32-yarder to Jabar Gaffney, who ran a crossing route.

He wasn't allowed to throw the ball when Denver was backed up near its goal line, a coaching move that led to criticism when the Raiders stuffed the Broncos' running game and got a safety in the fourth quarter.

"There were times in the pocket where my feet could have been a lot better," Tebow said. "Sometimes my footwork in the running game could have been a lot better. My fakes, I could be a lot more polished.

"So there are a lot of things I have to work on to improve, and that is starting now."

Denver coaches spent the early part of this past week crafting a game plan that might better be able to utilize Tebow's talents, including his ability to run. Yet the coaches said they are constantly reminding Tebow to avoid contact, to slide rather than lower his shoulder, to duck out of bounds rather than plow into a defensive player near the sideline.

"You can talk to him about things like that," said Eric Studesville, Denver's interim head coach, "but those instincts are just in him, and we are going to certainly keep coaching those things.

"Hopefully, we can keep him healthy as long as possible because we know the violence of this game. But he plays this game how it is supposed to be played. Some of that is getting bounced around out there."

Tebow learned the importance of not exposing himself to a big hit during the Broncos' preseason opener at Cincinnati on Aug. 15, when he injured his ribs on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He missed several practices and one preseason game while he let the ribs heal.

Preservation preferred

Despite his prowess as a runner, Tebow never missed a collegiate start because of an injury. He did, however, often play hurt. He injured his right shoulder and broke his right hand in 2007, played through knee and ankle pain in 2008 and had a concussion in 2009. If he continues to run with frequency, there are concerns about his durability in the NFL.

Michael Vick, the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback, has made it through an entire 16-game season only once. He missed playing time this season because of a rib injury.

Tebow has heard the "just slide" speech from coaches for years. He insists he's listening. He said he learned from his goal-line collision at Cincinnati, but the memory of that pain hasn't caused him to change his approach.

Still, his coaches are hoping he takes their advice.

"It's not a futile effort, it better not be a futile effort, because it's important," Ben McDaniels said. "It's somewhat humorous and playful to talk about, but he has to understand that we're counting on him to play and be as healthy as he can be to play and preserve his body."

Sore subject

Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow never missed a start at Florida but played through injuries during much of his storied college career. Among them:

2007: Injured his right (nonthrowing) shoulder against Kentucky and needed pain-killing shots in that shoulder for the remainder of the season. Later, he broke a bone in his right hand while scoring on a touchdown run against Florida State. That hand was in a blue cast when he accepted the Heisman Trophy (below).

2008: Suffered a sprained ankle and a hyper- extended knee, neither of which kept him out of games. After the season, he had surgery on his right shoulder to remove a bone spur.

2009: Spent a night in a Lexington, Ky., hospital after suffering a concussion against Kentucky. He took a knee to the head on a sack. Returned to play against LSU after a bye week.

Rookie on the run

Through the first seven games in which Tim Tebow has played this year, his biggest impact has come on the ground. He has scored four rushing touchdowns, and his 78 yards rushing last Sunday at Oakland were the second-most by a Broncos quarterback in team history. A look at Tebow's rookie season:

Highlight: Tebow ran the wrong play, but it worked out right when he took off on a quarterback draw on third-and-24 in the first quarter against the Raiders. The former Heisman Trophy winner ran straight ahead for a 40-yard touchdown, dragging an Oakland defensive player the final few yards into the end zone.

Lowlight: Tebow scored a rushing touchdown in the Broncos' preseason opener at Cincinnati, but as he crossed the goal line, he took a hard shot to the ribs from a Bengals defender. Tebow was badly bruised and had to miss several practices and the next game while he recovered.

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